Wicked Ways
by Darkchild2751
Summary: A nineteen year old Sarah has come back for winter break, but weird things start happening again. Sarah is wished away to the goblins, where her only friend is the only human who has never been turned into a goblin.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the characters created by Jim Henson and company

Chapter One

The old and tarnished music box, which had once been her favorite toy, now played a flat and melancholy tune. There is something about  
small, glittering boxes that get a child's attention. When Sarah had  
outgrown staring in awe at the lone dancer that sprang to life each  
time the music started, her prized possession was put in the drawer, like the rest of her things. A glance over her room made Sarah shiver for a second. It wasn't her, but in a sense, it was. Sarah had outgrown going to the park and reenacting Shakespeare. Saying 'bubble bubble toil and trouble' didn't make her curls curve under, or anything that used to happen. Sure, every once in a while an idea would pop up in her head, but Sarah would write it down. If she ever got out of college she would probably end up a writer, maybe even a teacher if she got lucky.

Toby was at that age of ignorance, and though she still had a place in her heart for him, he could be a rascal whenever she was home. Bleach marks on the walls showed the feeble attempt of trying to clean up finger painting, but it was obvious where every finger had lain. Luckily, there weren't any bleach stains in her room. Knowing Karen, she probably had it locked up whenever Sarah wasn't home. It was a good thing too, because that would mean that her room hadn't been the playroom while she was gone at college.

Once Sarah came to think about it, she was really lucky she had even gotten into college. Sure, she had the grades and stuff, but she might have gone mentally insane after the labyrinth sequence. There was one thing that made it so she didn't lose her mind, and Sarah didn't even know her name. It had happened one year after, and she had been shocked to see someone staring into her room from the mirror.

"You know it was all a game, don't you?" The woman who was speaking didn't have a sophisticated tone like the goblin king, but her voice was low and smooth.

Still a bit shocked an actual human-like figure in her mirror, Sarah stumbled over her words.

"Well, yah, I was playing to win Toby back, and I won."

The woman, or maybe she was a girl, rolled her eyes. She looked only a few years older than Sarah. She had dark red hair, light green eyes, and a freckled, ruddy face that looked like it was naturally like that. She was definitely the weirdest fae Sarah had ever seen.

"Obviously you got that part Sarah, but the whole 'the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl' shit wasn't true. May I?" The girl said while motioning at the mirror.

Sarah nodded her head briefly, but she couldn't really understand how Jareth could not have fallen in love with her. She saw it in his eyes.

"Stop thinking about yourself Sarah. He does it for everyone, and lucky for you, you didn't fall for it."

Sarah was shocked from the rudeness that was coming out of this girl's mouth.

"Why should I listen to you? I don't even know who you are."

Someone knocked at the door, and Sarah heard Karen's voice saying, "Are you okay honey?"

"Yes Karen," Sarah said while staring at the girl in front of her. "My computers just whacked." Sarah knew Karen was going to say that Sarah didn't even have a computer, but she just walked away.

"And you lie too, this is going to be fun," the girl said with a smirk.

"Who _are _you?"

"Randall, and if you want my history, I was wished away."

Sarah stared blankly at her. "But don't people turn into goblins if they're wished away?"

"Yes."

She wasn't being helpful at all, and she actually looked like she was enjoying it. "Then why aren't _you_ a goblin."

"_I_ was wished away because my sister was trying to save my life, not because my elder sister was selfish."

Sarah scowled. "Then why the glitter?"

Randall smiled largely as if it were a joke. "Peer pressure. That's all I have to say. Actually, I came to tell you not to go crazy. Do not tell people that any of what happened in the Underground was true. You can tell them stories, you can even go ahead and write a book about it, but don't go saying that it was true. Jareth, the nutball, has already sent half a dozen people into the mental house."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sarah asked.

"Because, Jareth's IQ seems to be getting lower and lower every day he spends with those goblins, and I don't think he will ever realize he's sending people into mental asylums."

Sarah realized something right then. This girl had been in the ballroom. She had only gotten a glimpse of the redhead, but Randall wasn't one of the ones laughing at her.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Randall, who had been swinging her legs from the vanity mirror looked up at Sarah in horror.

"I don't love him," she scoffed. "He wouldn't let me save my sister."

And if she seemed that that was enough reason, Randall slid back through the mirror and vanished.

Sarah had not seen Randall since that night, but their conversation had made her wonder. Once, when Sarah had volunteered at a hospital in the summer after eleventh grade, she had actually looked up in the records to see if Randall was actually telling the truth. Five people had been committed into an asylum for 'lack of mental stableness' and a brief record of their interviews with physiologists. Sarah didn't remember if she had volunteered for that position at the hospital only to figure out the truth or not.

"Dinner," Karen shrieked from down stairs.

Sarah ran to go fetch Toby who was probably playing in his room to take him to dinner.

"Sarah," Toby exclaimed. "I can read full sentences like you can!"

"That's nice to know Toby," she said while scooping Toby up. She stumbled a bit under his weight, but kept on walking.

"Don't you want me to read to you?"

"Not now Toby, it's dinner time."

"But…"

"No buts. Your mom said it was time for dinner."

"Fine Sarah," he said while yanking at her hair. "I'll read to you sometime though."

"Whatever you say Toby, whatever you say."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the creative mind of Jim Henson and Company.

Chapter Two

Dinner had ended up a silent fiasco as one of her friends at college might have put it. Karen must have decided that in her free time she would learn how to cook; she did learn, but not very well. A dinner of over-salted potatoes and undercooked beef was the only reason for Sarah's need for escape. Karen had been so proud of that dinner, and Sarah didn't want to bring her hopes down. Someone eventually would, but at the moment, Sarah would rather take a walk in the freezing weather, which she did.

Everything about the town that Sarah had grown up in was the same. The same people waved at her from their front porches, the same cars were parked in the same driveway. It almost seemed like nothing had changed since the last winter was here, but that's what snow did to places. It covered up anything that could or wanted to be different.

The lake at Clyde's park was frozen over, and Sarah could dimly see that streaks ran through the ice from ice-skating. The usual swans that were on the lake had been taken out and put in a more suitable environment. There was no way they could have flown south for the winter; their wings had been clipped.

Sarah vaguely remembered reenacting scenes from her books in this park, but she had grown out of it after the tenth grade. It just felt weird after the Labyrinth encounter. She always felt as if someone was watching her.

"Sarah!"

Sarah jumped in surprise as she heard a voice behind her. No one should have been out when it was this cold outside.

"Sarah, you said I could read to you," Toby said. He was bundled up in what looked like ten coats. If anything, he looked like a large red marshmallow.

"You're not supposed to be outside Toby. It's too cold."

Toby crossed his arms on his chest and pouted. "Then why are you outside?"

Sarah decided to ignore this comment. "Did Karen say you could come outside?"

Toby nodded once. "I brought a book to read as well. Mommy said it would be okay if we read outside."

Sarah looked down into the little boys hands, hoping she wouldn't see the book. It probably would have been best to burn The Labyrinth, but she couldn't have brought it up to herself. Between the two gloves on Toby was the book _Snow White_. Sarah sighed with relief as they sat down under a lamppost, and he began reading, pausing every once in a while when he couldn't understand a word.

Once it had gotten too cold and too dark to stay outside any longer, Sarah decided it might be best to get Toby to bet. She wanted to meet up with some of her old friends from high school the next day. As they walked up the front driveway to the house, she could see her father waiting at the doorway.

"Toby, your mother has gotten a bath ready for you," he said without any sternness whatsoever.

"Aww, dad, do I have to?"

"Yes Toby."

Toby seemed to figure out that there was no way to convince his father otherwise and stomped past Robert up the stairs. Sarah began to follow him with her father caught her arm.

"There's some frozen macaroni you can heat up with you want," he said with a smile.

Sarah waited for a second to see if her stomach would respond to that offer, but it didn't. She probably had lost her appetite earlier, and it hadn't come back yet. Sarah wondered if it ever would.

"I think I might pass on that. I'm kind of tired anyways."

Robert let her pass, and Sarah walked up the staircase to her bedroom. Everything was changing so fast, and since Sarah was had been at college, she didn't get to see it.

Sarah was brushing her hair when she heard her father talking about one of his coworkers in the hallway.

"The doctor says she has only to Easter to live. Esther said she would rather live the way she wanted until she died instead of having that painful therapy."

"I understand," Karen interrupted. "But wouldn't the therapy help her live…"

"I want someone to read to me!" Toby yelled from across the hallway. Sarah heard her father's footsteps go into Toby's room and Karen's light footsteps clinking to the end of the hallway.

It wasn't until later that Sarah decided that she should go say goodnight to Toby. She opened the door a little bit and saw her father closing the book he'd been reading to Toby.

"Oh, please, Daddy. Tell me what she said," Toby wailed.

"Fine, Fine. She said," her father noticed her in the door and kept on looking in her direction. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now."

The room darkened, and the shutters flew open. But her father did not seem to notice. Neither did Toby. She watched them, almost in slow motion, keep on talking. They didn't even notice her horrified expression. They didn't even notice the man standing right in front of them.

"What luck you have Ms. Williams," said Jareth, the Goblin King, stoically.

"Why can't they see you?" Sarah said determinably.

"No 'go away goblin king', how shocking."

"Why can't they see you?" Sarah said even louder.

"Toby had nothing to do with the wish, and your father doesn't believe."

Sarah knew this was the Goblin King's job, and she knew he wanted her to act up. She wouldn't, of course. This whole thing wasn't fair. If anything she had been the innocent bystander.

"Come on Sarah," he said with his hand outstretched.

Sarah had to keep on telling herself that she would not make a fool of herself over and over in her head. She wouldn't make his job any more enjoyable, and she took his hand.

Author's note: A thousand thanks to Labyrinth Mistress, who seemed to be the only one to review. If you read this, please review. I want to know how you like the story so far and what you think should change if you don't like it. Also, I hope you liked the way Sarah got wished away. It's bound to happen, and it took me a really long time to figure out a way she could disappear that was a bit original.


End file.
